tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69151151800431917272017-07-23T05:50:13.512-05:00Boomn29's - 2014 Racing Adventures!Details involved in preparing, choosing and competing in various wheel-2-wheel events mainly in the Midwest both in my previously owned 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX and other racecar rentals!Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-75162769765702147792014-07-16T12:02:00.001-05:002014-07-16T12:02:44.255-05:00Autobahn 3.5hr Enduro - Saturday June 7th
While at another event at The Autobahn Country Club, we seen a flier for a new 3-race Enduro series this year at Autobahn. Race #1 was a 3.5hr event to be held on Sat June 7th. With some (a lot) of planning, our same group that won the 4.5 hr NASA Autobahn Full Track Enduro was signed up! That meant I'd be back in the #50 Mustang!
Last fall in the 4.5 hr, Dave (owner), Joe and I ended up Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-20314100224867879112014-07-02T14:20:00.000-05:002014-07-02T14:29:22.240-05:00NASA @ HPT - 6/1 Racing??
(pic above; Our pit area. Included are the #7 and #18 Miata's I drove. The #54
was contending for the overall win before an engine failure;
although they still won E1.)
After the previous night's Enduro awards at 9pm, we (some more than others) had a few beverages at the track before calling it a night. Arriving around 7:30am I was eager to find out the status of the #7 and if I'd be Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-83578060142848653852014-06-19T22:57:00.000-05:002014-07-02T14:29:28.632-05:00NASA @ HPT - 5/31 Enduro!After a dissapointing early retirement from the Sprint race earlier in the day (completing 12 of 17 laps), we were prepping for the evening's 2.5 hr Enduro. The original plan was for me to start the #18 E3 Miata of Andrews, and about 10min later hop into the #7 E3 Miata of Bryan's to finish - running approximately 1:10 in each car.
However, the #18 was wounded from the earlier race and we Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-16402116025519681312014-06-05T13:56:00.000-05:002014-06-05T13:56:40.386-05:00NASA @ HPT - 5/31 Sprint Races!I took off for Kansas around 2:45pm Friday afternoon. The majority of
the trip is W through Missouri via a 4-lane divided highway with a 65mph
limit - and this featured about 4 different pop-up showers, several of
them with heave downpour! All-in-all I made the 371 mile trip is just
over 5 hours. I headed straight to a local Restuarant/Brewery that I'd
visited before for drinks and some Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-3827668065813025802014-05-26T14:41:00.001-05:002014-06-04T13:19:49.950-05:00NASA Midwest Region @ Autobahn - 4/27/14Sunday brought another day of great racing; with a similar schedule. Practice yielded a 1:40.6; which was 4th of the PTE class but I knew their was more time in the car and wasn't worried. 2 hours later in qualifying I pushed hard and my best lap of 1:38.512 would put me on pole! The top was damn tight; with 2nd being .08 behind me and the top four separated by just .355!
Today's race would beNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-87317755863167300302014-04-30T21:53:00.002-05:002014-04-30T21:54:20.102-05:00NASA Midwest Region @ Autobahn - 4/26/14
The wife and I got up early Saturday morning (4:40am) to make the drive
to Autobahn for the 8am driver's meeting. I arrived in time to greet
Sam of Myers Motorsports and get a look at the 1991 Honda CRX SI I would
be driving this weekend. The car looked clean and, well, small!
I had a short discussion with Sam about the car and all the specifics
relating to shift points, types of Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0Joliet, IL, USA41.525031 -88.08172509999997141.3347905 -88.404448599999967 41.7152715 -87.759001599999976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-45395548005311514392014-04-24T23:21:00.001-05:002014-04-24T23:21:12.411-05:0024 Hrs of Lemons @ Gingerman - April 19-20After a weekend off, I headed up to SW Michigan for a 24 Hours of Lemons event at Gingerman Raceway. This would be a repeat event/team/weekend for me from 2013 and I was looking forward to it. In 2013, I joined the #86 Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and ran the 2-day 15hr event and ended up with a 2nd place finish. Needless to say; the team was expecting another good showing.
I buzzed N ~300Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-8624857554013771362014-04-18T05:30:00.000-05:002014-04-18T06:13:56.007-05:00Chumpcar 7hr @ Autobahn - Sunday 4/6/14 - Day #2Just like the previous day, we'd be running a 7hr endurance race on Sunday. Same team, same drivers, just a reversed driver order with me leading off this time. I had convinced the owner to try some lower tire pressures today in hopes it would improve the handling and eliminate the push.
With another cold morning (but not as cold) starting, I suited up and hoped in the car for the initial Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-33815983493605517732014-04-15T21:42:00.000-05:002014-04-15T21:42:14.250-05:00Chumpcar 7hr @ Autobahn - Sat 4/5/14 - Day #1 - part 2 of 2
As mentioned in the previous post, I would be the 4th and final team driver of the day. I'd be driving from 2:10pm to the 4pm checkered flag. I took the car in 26th and planned to push hard! The car was pretty easy to drive and I quickly settled in with some 1:51-1:53 laps. I did end up with the fastest lap of the team for the day - a 1:50.6. The track was full but manageable and the car Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-35389428075385093612014-04-08T23:27:00.001-05:002014-04-08T23:27:33.609-05:00Chumpcar 7hr @ Autobahn - Sat 4/5/14 - Day #1 - part 1I headed the 2.5 hrs from work to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL on Friday. We had 30mph gusts from the West combined with a 39 degree temp which made driving difficult! The main requirement was to get my safety gear checked out and simply do a meet-n-greet with the team I'd be racing with. I quickly found the car - a white Miata; nicknamed 'Jenny' (ala 8675309) - and some of the team. Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-24517185227313583222014-04-05T08:00:00.000-05:002014-04-05T08:00:01.780-05:00April 5-6 - Chumpcar @ Autobahn!
No rest for the weary. So after racing last weekend, where am I at this weekend? The track. Racing Chumpcar World Series at Autobahn Country Club outside Chicago, IL. I'll be racing with 3 other guys I've never met before with a team I literally found on an internet forum with an open seat! With me luck...
The event is a 'Double 7'; meaning 7hrs each day for a total of 14hrs around Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-19240200826632295812014-04-03T07:30:00.001-05:002014-04-03T07:30:14.447-05:00NASA @ GMP - 3/30/14 (Day 2; races 2 & 3)Day #2 was Sunday and forecasted some warmer weather as well as 2 races! The morning started out cold and we'd discussed a setup change for the car to help it through the oval - this after the owner took it out for a session the previous day. I'm all for changes, so I said let's give it a try!
Qualifying was up right away and the changes didn't seem to make things any worse. However, everyoneNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-34961366498620626812014-03-31T22:57:00.000-05:002014-03-31T22:57:30.082-05:00NASA @ GMP - 3/29/14 (Day 1)
It was going to be a busy freaking weekend. 3 races altogether and I would be instructing. While I have instructed before, and most often at Gateway, I had never instructed for NASA; nor while I was competing. It simply takes a ton of time and a lot of focus away from the task at hand.Arriving around 7am Saturday, it was cold, overcast and windy. The car was ready and except for BFG R1 Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-66613431017249762372014-03-23T21:24:00.001-05:002014-03-23T21:24:30.555-05:002014 Season Begins - NASA @ Gateway Motorsports ParkFirst event of 2014....
NASA Midwest & NASA Central @ Gateway Motorsports Park March 29-30th. This is a return event from 2013 for me - in the same car! I'll be driving the Team Cohn #7 PTE Miata once again. Last year I put it on the pole and set the PTE track record on the way to the class win on Saturday. On Sunday... well... the whole freakin event was cancelled! Seriously! Based on the Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-71251492466706161872014-03-11T21:52:00.000-05:002014-03-11T21:52:44.718-05:00March/April Racing Itinerary
It's took some planning, but the 2014 Racing Season starts soon - and it'll be a fast and furious start. The last weekend in March will kick things off with a NASA sprint race at Gateway in STL. The following weekend we'll be headed N to Autobahn in Joliet for a Chumpcar 14-hr Endurance race. A b-day weekend off featuring some Cubs/Cards tickets at Busch is next. The very next weekend I'm Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-3371725689745914522014-02-28T15:50:00.001-06:002014-02-28T15:50:26.838-06:002014 - Season (pre)Planning...
The past 2 winters - without a racecar - have been much different.
From 2009-2012 I was eagerly awaiting new classing rulesets to decide
where to position the #929Evo, what mods to do or undo, what items to
refresh and what would need done by my title sponsor (ECU Tuning, etc).
I would pull together all that information and eventually build my
schedule. The biggest pain of that process Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-54297280142720777772014-02-04T21:54:00.002-06:002014-02-04T21:54:53.756-06:002013 Recap!It was a very different 2013 for me. After selling the #929Evo last fall, I had a complete of renting. I drove a Miata, a Volvo (twice), 2 Mustangs, 3 different BMW SpecE30's and a Subaru STI rally car. I set a track record, took 1st in a Sprint race, took 1st in an Endurance and tried some Rallying!
We started at Gateway with a NASA sprint weekend in a PTE Miata. First place and a track Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-87968926216428338902014-01-23T22:22:00.000-06:002014-01-23T22:22:56.699-06:00The Long Trip home from Road Atlanta (Dec 2013)I wish I could say the trip home was smoother, but it was not. The estimated 9hr trip down ended up stretching to 11hrs due to a lot of sleet in IL and tons of rain through Kentucky and Tennessee. Although it was mid 50's on Saturday in Atlanta, I knew my watching the weather reports there would be a great chance of more snow and ice back home on Sunday.
We took off Saturday around 5pm after Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-89598164990967689032014-01-10T14:53:00.002-06:002014-01-10T14:56:22.628-06:00Road Atlanta 12/7/13 - Sprint Race!
Early Saturday morning at Road Atlanta brought lots of rain, but by the driver's meeting it had cleared and left 40 degree morning temps - pushing into 50 by midday. As planned I would be in the Drivegear White #88 SpecE30 today. By the time we were finished with the longest driver's meeting I've ever had (lots of confusion in the SE how to handle contact with SpecE30; lots of confusion), Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-57936433924237044242013-12-31T11:25:00.003-06:002013-12-31T11:27:39.460-06:00Road Atlanta 8hr Enduro - the 2nd 1/2.After nearly 2 hrs in the car in 70 degree temps I was pretty tired and warm. No power steering or abs on a track like Road Atlanta with the elevation changes in a seat that is made to accept a wide range of drivers - all adds up to being sore! I grabbed some fluids and some granola bars and checked out the standings and the rest of the team. The other 2 cars (red #00 and white #88) had been Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-81427437127937167182013-12-20T15:28:00.003-06:002013-12-20T15:36:28.451-06:00Road Atlanta 8hr Enduro - the first 1/2.
Altogether, DriveGear would be supporting 3 team cars in the 8hr Enduro - all SpecE30's. A red, blue and white one.
I would be in the red #89, along with Johnathan and James. With James having raced at Road Atlanta in an e30 before - and having been there last weekend - myself and Johnathan both took a spin during the 45min practice session that started at 8am. I took about 5 laps which Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA 30517, USA34.1435425 -83.81365579999999234.130401 -83.833825799999985 34.156684000000006 -83.7934858tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-58526031124016649862013-12-09T21:32:00.000-06:002013-12-09T21:32:41.446-06:00Dec 5th - Trip to Road AtlantaOff to Road Atlanta! The plan was to make the trip there on Thursday, run the 8hr NASA Enduro on Friday, Sprint races on Saturday and then head homeward - grabbing a hotel wherever to split up the drive and get home earlish on Sunday. The early weather report called for rain Friday & Saturday in Atlanta; and later winter storm 'Cleon' threatened the drive down and 'Deon' the trip back! With noNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-91362605626847119332013-11-27T14:44:00.002-06:002013-11-27T16:17:55.670-06:00Prepping for trip - NASA @ Road AtlantaAs 2014 schedules are being leaked and I debate renting vs buying for 2014 - the Road Atlanta weekend is quickly approaching!
Plans are to make the 9 hour drive Thursday afternoon, with my Old Man riding shotgun with me. He actually came in my only other trip to Road ATL in March/2012 when I towed down the Evo and enjoyed it. This weekend should be much more interesting as instead of running Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-40449109943156265722013-11-19T15:33:00.000-06:002013-11-19T15:33:17.012-06:00'Santa's Toy Run' - Road Atlanta with NASA SE region
Next up; back to Road Atlanta! This NASA-SE event kicks off Friday with an 8hr Enduro and then a normal Saturday with Sprint Races and finally Sunday with some end of the year fun specifically catered to the SE region.
I will be driving both Friday and Saturday. Friday I'll be sharing the red #89 se30 (Spec BMW e30) from DriveGear Racing with 2 other gentleman. On Saturday I'll be in Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6915115180043191727.post-30319031171869018262013-11-07T09:55:00.000-06:002013-11-07T09:57:27.252-06:00DirtFish Rally School - Boneyard!
After a few rounds on the Slalom course - sharing the 4 cars and 4 instructors between the 8 of us students, we moved onto the next course. This was is nicknamed the 'Boneyard' and would be much longer with higher speeds and varying types of corners. I was def looking forward to this, as this is one of the courses that Top Gear utilized when they visited - that episode airing just a few weeksNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093309657659409746noreply@blogger.com0Snoqualmie, WA, USA47.5287132 -121.8253905999999947.4429377 -121.98675209999999 47.614488699999995 -121.6640291